Nanaimo Fire Rescue (NFR) responded on Sunday, April 19 at 9:20 p.m. to a north Nanaimo home on Fillinger Cres. at Heritage Dr. in response to a fire originating from a home’s garage and front entrance area. 

NFR assistant chief John McKenzie said the home’s three occupants were home at the time. 

Nanaimo Fire Rescue crews used a ladder truck to provide additional light while fighting a structure fire at 5171 Fillinger Crescent. (Image Credit: Submitted photo)

“Two were transported to Nanaimo Regional General Hospital by BC Ambulance paramedics, they had burns to their hands, and one was treated on scene by ambulance for smoke inhalation,” McKenzie said, who noted their crews were able to quickly knock the fire down.

He said it appears the occupants attempted to fight the fire, as well as rescue their pets. 

Two cats perished in the fire, McKenzie said, who stated their crews rescued a pair of rabbits and a guinea pig. 

McKenzie said the home’s bottom level sustained significant fire and smoke damage, while substantial smoke damage impacted the top floor. 

He said working smoke alarms were vital in alerting the residents to the fire, with two occupants awake, and one asleep at the time. 

An NFR investigation conducted on Monday could not pinpoint a cause of the fire considered non-suspicious, according to McKenzie.

“There was significant damage to the garage area, evidence can be lost with the fire if it’s intense enough and there’s no cause determined,” McKenzie told NanaimoNewsNOW. 

He noted the garage contained a heavy volume of items which added to the fire’s growth.

McKenzie said while the home’s occupants don’t have renter’s insurance, they do have alternate housing arrangements for the time being. 

The home is uninhabitable indefinitely, McKenzie relayed.  

This incident serves as an important public reminder to keep doors closed in your home, McKenzie stated.  

In this case, several doors were open, which McKenzie said contributed to the fire’s expansion. 

He said doors kept closed can significantly reduce a fire’s spread by preventing hot fiery gasses from being fed by fresh air.

In addition, McKenzie said closed doors allow occupants more time to escape. 

“Closed doors are absolutely critical for preventing fire spread and buying firefighters more time to arrive and be able to extinguish the fire and rescue people,” McKenzie said.  

NFR crews managed to quickly contain the fire, ensuring it did spread beyond the impacted address. (Image Credit: Ian Holmes/NanaimoNewsNOW)

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Craig James Hannon was arrested on Feb. 19, accused of ramming an Oceanside RCMP vehicle several times near Whiskey Creek a week prior.

He was due to appear in provincial court in Nanaimo on Tuesday, April 21, but an arrest warrant was approved instead, and his whereabouts remains unknown.

On Feb. 12, Oceanside RCMP were searching for a white heavy-duty pickup truck, stating the vehicle’s driver had taken off from police twice in the days prior.

Mounties located a stolen white Ford F-350 in a pullout on the Whiskey Creek Forest Service Rd., with police reporting the truck backing up and ramming into the unmarked police vehicle at least six times, and then taking off.

The truck was reported stolen in Saanich on Feb. 6, and police located it abandoned and heavily damaged on a dead-end road in Whiskey Creek.

While recovering the truck, police allege Hannon was spotted in the passenger seat of another vehicle, which also failed to stop for police.

Hannon was charged with several offences, including assault/threaten police, and committing an offence while disguised, and a warrant has been issued for his arrest.

He was released from custody by a judge following a March 17 bail hearing after an earlier arrest warrant was issued, however Hannon failed to show up for subsequent court appearances in Nanaimo.

Hannon is no stranger to the B.C. court system, serving time in 2018 for multiple convictions, including stealing multiple vehicles.

Police say he’s known to steal early 2000s F-250 and F-350 trucks, and is known to frequent southern Vancouver Island, Port Alberni, and the Oceanside regions.

Anyone with information on his whereabouts is asked to contact the Oceanside RCMP at 1-250-248-6111.

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Boosted by a $12,000 grant from the TELUS Storyhive program, local freelancer Clinton Nellist and his team went to work creating Branches Between Generations, an eight-episode series connecting Parksville seniors with local high school students.

Nellist told NanaimoNewsNOW the idea came from local studio owner Mark Beuerman’s regular trips past the Berwick retirement community and a feeling of “there’s gotta be stories in there.”

“Why don’t we find an opportunity where we have the seniors in Berwick get connected with local high school students to have intergenerational conversations? We were just trying to take two different people from two different generations who had never met each other, these are all strangers, and we sat them down with microphones and cameras and kind of facilitated the dialogue.”

Connections through Berwick and the Society of Organized Services in Parksville helped Nellist line up interested seniors and students to discuss an array of topics.

Episodes in the series focus on topics like love, technology, history, education, and careers.

Nellist said in some episodes, the seniors drive the conversation, while in others, the students took the lead.

“There were some who were naturally more shy, and some of them were naturally more charismatic. Joan and Sophie were two interviewees who sat down and started going at it right away, and they just had such an engaging, organic conversation. There were others who wanted more of a structured approach.”

Dialogue was key, Nellist said, to get both perspectives on important topics, but to also show connections of this nature were simple to achieve.

“To just encourage families and neighbours and strangers to sit down and have these conversations. They don’t obviously need to be in front of microphones and cameras, but I just think getting our community together and sharing these stories is so important.”

Branches Between Generations is available through TELUS Optik TV Video On Demand and Stream+, and will be added to the Storyhive YouTube channel on June 16.

Nellist was one of 63 recipients this time of funding from TELUS Storyhive, which provides funding and supports to community members to help create documentaries, narrative films, or other media.

More information about Branches Between Generations is available on the project’s website.

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Emergency crews were called on Monday, April 20, at 12:35 p.m. to the southbound lanes of the Island Hwy. across from Brooks Landing Shopping Centre in response to a single-vehicle which rolled onto its roof in a ditch.

The vehicle damaged a BC Hydro line anchored to a wooden pole, with the vehicle resting in the ditch between the highway and E&N Trail.

(Image Credit: Ian Holmes/NanaimoNewsNOW)

Nanaimo RCMP Res. Cst. Gary O’Brien said the driver was already out of the car when police arrived on scene.

“He appeared to be under the influence of some type of drug. The members conducted a field sobriety test, he failed and was issued a 24-hour prohibition from driving. His vehicle was towed, also for 24 hours.”

One person was taken into custody on scene following the single-vehicle rollover on Monday afternoon. (Image Credit: Ian Holmes/NanaimoNewsNOW)

O’Brien said the driver didn’t appear to be injured and was checked over by BC Ambulance Service crews on scene.

He said the crash could have turned out much worse.

“It appears that he went on the nod and off the roadway right, and flipped,” O’Brien said. “He’s very lucky that he survived, nobody else was injured because it’s a very active trail with joggers and bikes.”

The severely damaged Kia Rio was towed from the scene.

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Nanaimo Fire Rescue (NFR) responded to the parking lot northwest corner outside of Save-on-Foods on Monday, April 20, shortly before 12:30 p.m. where flames were shooting from a Class C motorhome.

NFR Cpt. Daryl Robson said the fire was fully involved by the time they arrived with a pair of fire engines, noting the owner safely located on scene

“When we got here, the flames were through the roof already, so we pulled a pre-connect, knocked it down pretty quick, went in and searched it and extinguished the fire.”

No injuries were reported.

The the owner of the badly damaged motorhome spoke with firefighters and assessed the damage.

The department’s Fire Loss Prevention Division will be tasked with determining the cause.

Fire burned a hole right through the side and roof of the motorhome. (Image Credit: Jordan Davidson/NanaimoNewsNOW)

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Local firefighters, along with members from Qualicum Beach, Nanoose Bay, Errington and Coombs, were dispatched to a commercial property in the 100 block of McCarter St., just after 4:30 a.m. on Monday, April 20.

Parksville Fire Rescue assistant fire chief Cam Cruickshank said the two-storey building is currently under renovation, but no one was inside at the time of the fire.

“It was fairly obvious where the fire was, there was active flame and stuff like that, so we were able to get a hose on that, get some water on it, and knock it down fairly quickly.”

Flames were seen coming from a building in the 100 block of McCarter St. early Monday morning. (Image Credit: Bill Dean)

Damage was largely contained to the exterior of the building.

Cruickshank said they believe it to be intentionally lit.

“It does look suspicious as far as from an investigation standpoint. The RCMP investigation is continuing, but the renovations happening inside can continue.”

Oceanside RCMP members were on scene after fire crews wrapped up on Monday morning.

NanaimoNewsNOW has contacted Oceanside RCMP for comment.

Firefighters were on scene for around 90 minutes, Cruickshank said, but had a majority of the situation handled after the first 30 minutes.

Crews were also dispatched to another fire in the same area of town around three hours later, however, Cruickshank said they’re not believed to be related.

Engines from five different departments responded to the scene, with firefighters on McCarter St. for around 90 minutes Monday morning. (Image Credit: Megan Gibson)

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Kirsty MacDonald, the City’s manager of parks operations, told NanaimoNewsNOW the long-closed stairs at Seabold Rotary Park off the end of Seabold Rd. is a project actively being addressed behind the scenes.

Shuttered since a powerful November 2024 storm toppled several trees onto the stairs, MacDonald said the City hopes to replace the impacted section this year.

“Geotechnical investigations are currently underway, we’re working really hard to make sure that the site is safe for a contractor to access to do repairs, as well as complete an amenity that is safe for the public to access in the future,” MacDonald said.

Aftermath of a destructive Nov. 19, 2024, windstorm that ravaged multiple parks, including the stairs at Seabold Rotary Park. (Image Credit: City of Nanaimo)

She said the geotechnical assessment expected shortly will outline how contractor crews can safely access and fix the impacted area, situated on a steep slope.

While money is available in this year’s budget to fix the stairs, MacDonald said the full scope of the costs is unknown, noting City Council may be asked to sign off on the project.

MacDonald said the City has received many inquiries from people wondering about the status of the Seabold Rd. beach access.

“Seabold’s been closed about around a year and a half now, and we want the public to know that it hasn’t been forgotten; we’re actively trying to reopen it again.”

Tree root rot and bank instability are challenges for the site, MacDonald noted.

While a trend of increasingly powerful windstorms poses a threat to Nanaimo’s parks and trails system, MacDonald said maintaining access via high bank stairs is important.

She pointed to a 2020 survey as part of the City Plan/Official Community Plan process, placing public access to lake and ocean fronts as top priorities for the future of parks.

“It’s definitely a reason that many people move to Nanaimo is to access waterfronts,” MacDonald said. “As a community, we know that’s a strong re-occurring ‘why did you choose to live here?’ because of easy access to waterfront.”

There’s clarity on other pending beach access staircase projects.

With repairs to Beach Estates Park off Departure Bay Rd. concluding following recent vandalism, MacDonald said those crews will then replace the staircase at Sealand Park, off the end of Waldbank Rd.

The high bank staircase leading to a gully trail is expected to take place during the month of May, MacDonald said.

The Sealand Park beach access stairs have seen better days. The set is scheduled to be replaced shortly. (Image Credit: Ian Holmes/NanaimoNewsNOW.)

Crews will also replace a section of aging stairs at popular Blueback Beach. MacDonald said a date hasn’t been established for the partial replacement project at the access point off the end of Blueback Rd.

She noted trail counter data showed between 250 and 900 people use the stairs at Blueback Beach daily, depending on the day and season.

A minor enhancement project accessed via Bayshore Dr. and Fillinger Cres. involves concrete stairs and railing improvements to be completed this summer, MacDonald confirmed.

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The Sunview Park Committee (SPC) recently asked the City for $50,000 to turn a currently empty lot at the Sunview Rd. and Suncrest Rd. intersection off Wellington Rd. into a public park, complete with a playground.

Speaking at the Wednesday, April 15, finance and audit committee meeting, deputy director of parks and natural areas Charlotte Davis said City park planners have met with the SPC several times since they were established last winter, and they’re very eager to get started.

“They do have some mountains to climb with the amount they are due to raise in-kind or in donations, however, they are a committed group. They have already begun work on that fundraising element. There is also a community amenity contribution in place of $20,000 as well to get them a good head start on the program.”

The $20,000 secured through a prior rezoning application, while the SPC will be responsible for fundraising around $150,000 to bring their park past the financial finish line.

A rendering of the proposed park and playground areas for 166 Sunview Rd. (Image Credit: City of Nanaimo)

The committee recommended awarding the money from this year’s $100,000 Partners in Parks Program Fund (PPPF), used by community volunteers who work with City staff to develop their projects.

Planned features include one large multi-age play structure, a four-seat swing set, a perimeter track for bikes, and supporting elements such as benches, picnic tables, and waste/recycling bins.

Davis said despite the SPC requesting half of the PPPF for this year, she’s confident it won’t take away from other groups wanting to get started on their own parks this year.

“We have weighed the preparedness of this group with those that are in the queue, and we feel that we will be able to allocate all funds this year appropriately, and also have groups coming together in 2027. We take the opportunity to work through with the groups and find that level for commitment, and bring forward the projects we feel are most achievable in the appropriate timeframes.”

The recommendation must still come before a future regular council meeting for final approval.

The 0.4-acre undeveloped park at the intersection of Suncrest Rd. and Sunview Rd. was acquired in 2021 following the completion of the surrounding residential subdivisions. (Image Credit: Jordan Davidson/NanaimoNewsNOW)

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